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It was afternoon on the tenth day when they reached a high level plain that overlooked Birrill Shire, the home of riluds. Between the plain and the Shire was a river that separated the two landscapes and a stone bridge to cross to the other side. Irene looked around and noticed a number of small hills, some with black pipes sticking out of them. A delicious scent of food filled the air. The warm sunlight touched the green plains as shadows of clouds gently hovered past the hill-dotted land. “Welcome to Birrill Shire,” Robin said to Irene. “Where are the houses?” Irene asked. Robin pointed to the hills. “See those hills? You may have noticed the smoke coming from those pipes there. Those hills are actually rilud-homes. If you go closer you will see the door to those homes.” The rilud led them across the Stone Bridge. “We once lived in houses, but after so many invasions no matter how many times we rebuild our homes they would stil…

[4] Market day at Birrill Shire was
perhaps the busiest in the week. Though the population was much lower than it
was before the threat of the Order of Beliar, it was still an opportunity for
the remaining community to gather to get together, share their wares and swap stories
– even if it was for a blissful moment. Yuli, dressed in a cream high
collared cotton blouse and brown skirt of spun wool. Her long ebony hair was
brushed and braided back with a length of ivory ribbon fell down to the middle
of her back. With her ocre-toned skin, large slanted eyes, and smooth black
hair it was hard for the shire dwellers to not stop and stare. Yuli felt colour creeping up her
face as all eyes stared at her foreign features. “Don’t mind them,” Merl whispered.
The two riluds, Douglas on her left, Merl on her right, walked with her like
faithful sentries. “But,” Yuli began, her words lost
the moment a rilud woman shooed her children away as t…

********** Some distance away from the southern tip of Korda’s cliff, a merchant ship called Das Läuferin, or The Runner in common language, approached quietly beneath the clear blue skies belying the tension that the ship’s crews felt towards the place. “There is Korda, lad,” said the captain, pointing out the land mass to Aryn. “I do not see why you would want to go to there. They say that the devil himself rules it.” With those words, the captain spat over his shoulder. Aryn looked at the graceful blue mass that appeared to grow from the sea. “I just want to accomplish something for my father,” he told the captain. “Some last wishes?” The captain raised his eyebrows at the young man. Aryn shrugged. “Something like that.” The captain nodded. “Well, we’ll bring you to a pirates’ cove by boat. That will be as far as we’ll take you.” “That’s fine, thank-you,” Aryn told him not letting his eyes leave the land. They took him to the cove, where they said that people hardly go there because of the…